The Book.ua bookstore chain has opened a new location in Kyiv at 5 Spaska Street; the bookstore in Podil is currently operating in test mode, the company’s press office reported.
“We’re getting to know the new location, fine-tuning all our processes, and preparing for the official opening. But we don’t want to wait for the ‘perfect moment.’ The books are already on the shelves, the coffee is brewing, the team is on site—and we really want to finally see you here,” the chain noted on Facebook.
As previously reported, a Russian attack on August 28 destroyed the warehouse shared by Readeat, Book.ua, and a number of publishers in Sviatopetrivskyi, from which books were shipped throughout Ukraine.
Book.ua has been operating since 2023 and runs an online bookstore as well as bookstore-cafés: seven in Kyiv and one in Khmelnytskyi.
The top three companies in Ukraine by revenue from telecommunications services for the first half of 2026 were, by a wide margin, mobile network operators: Kyivstar PJSC – 24.87 billion UAH, VF Ukraine PJSC (Vodafone-Ukraine brand) – 13.75 billion UAH, and lifecell LLC (lifecell brand) of the DVL Group – 8.88 billion UAH.
According to data from the National Commission for the Regulation of Electronic Communications and Postal Services (NCREC) published on its website, compared to the same period in 2025, revenue growth for Kyivstar was 17.3%, for Vodafone-Ukraine 10.2%, and for lifecell 17.1%.
As previously reported, in 2025, the growth rates for these companies were 20.3%, 13.1%, and 19.1%, respectively.
The top five revenue leaders in the first half of 2026 also included the fixed-line operator PJSC “Ukrtelecom,” which saw its revenue decline by 5.1% compared to the same period in 2025, down to 2.19 billion UAH.
Kyivstar’s “sister” company, LLC “Ukraine Tower Company” (UTC), rounded out the top five in terms of revenue for the first half of this year, increasing its revenue by 21.5% to 1.73 billion UAH.
According to the report, leading the second five in terms of revenue from telecommunications services is the fixed-line operator PJSC “Datagroup” from the DVL Group, which increased its revenue by 35% compared to the same period last year—to 1.21 billion UAH.
Next is the fixed-line operator PrJSC “Farlep-Invest,” controlled by “VF Ukraine,” which increased its revenue by a factor of 1.5 to 0.57 billion UAH and rose from 9th place in 2025 to 7th place this year.
The Radio Broadcasting, Radio Communications, and Television Concern ranks eighth with 0.52 billion UAH, which is 14% more than in the first half of last year, when it ranked 7th.
Ukrainian Network Solutions LLC, the holding company for Vodafone Ukraine, increased its revenue 1.7-fold in the first half of 2026—to 0.49 billion UAH, while “Home-Net” Scientific and Industrial Company LLC ranks 10th, having managed to increase its revenue by 23.8% to 0.44 billion UAH.
According to the regulator’s data, the top three mobile operators also led in terms of capital investments in the telecommunications sector in the first half of 2026: “Kyivstar” reduced its investments by 38% compared to 2025—to 3.24 billion UAH, “Vodafone Ukraine” maintained its level at 3.16 billion UAH, while lifecell increased its investments by 43.9% to 2.62 billion UAH.
“Farlep-Invest” also increased its investments in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year—by 20.7%, to 0.61 billion UAH—moving up to 4th place from 5th previously, while YTK fell from 4th to 5th place due to a 23.9% decline in investments—to 0.57 billion UAH.
A 49.8% decrease in investment volumes was also recorded by “Ukrainian Network Solutions”—to 0.20 billion UAH.
“Ukrtelecom” reduced its investments in the first half of 2026 by only 1.5%—to 0.19 billion UAH—while “Datagroup” cut its investments by 22.4%, to 0.09 billion UAH.
In contrast, Home-Net increased this figure 3.9-fold in the first half of 2026—to 0.07 billion UAH—and rose from 17th place last year to 9th this year.
Rounding out the top five in terms of investment volume is Lanet Telecom LLC, which invested 0.04 billion UAH in the telecommunications sector in the first half of 2026, a decrease of approximately 2.5 million UAH compared to the first half of last year.
As previously reported, in the first quarter of 2026, the leaders in terms of revenue were PJSC “Kyivstar” – 12.08 billion UAH, PJSC “Vodafone Ukraine” (TM “Vodafone-Ukraine”) – 6.69 billion UAH, and LLC “lifecell” (TM lifecell) from the DVL Group – 4.18 billion UAH.
The National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine (NSSMC) sees opportunities for the revival of the municipal bond market in Ukraine, is actively working toward this goal, and supports a bill on preferential taxation of individual income from these instruments, said Commission Chairman Oleksiy Semenyuk.
“I believe this is possible (the revival of the municipal bond market). Moreover, this process is already underway on a fairly large scale,” he said during a discussion on the prospects of the stock market in Ukraine, organized by the Kyiv International Economic Forum last week.
Semenyuk clarified that a meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 2 with representatives of cities with populations of 100,000 or more—which will also include representatives from the Ministry of Finance—to discuss the main issues hindering the progress of this process.
“The main problems there are clear and have been identified… I want to note that I believe in municipal bonds,” emphasized the Commission chairman.
According to him, cities have development budgets, and they currently have significant needs for a rapid transition to energy independence, so bonds are an attractive instrument for them.
Semenyuk believes that municipal bonds could also be of interest to investment funds and local revenue-generating enterprises.
At the same time, Serhiy Fursa, deputy director of securities trading at the investment firm Dragon Capital, expressed doubt that municipal bonds would attract investors under current conditions, when the Ministry of Finance is placing domestic government bonds on the market, the income from which is tax-exempt.
“This would be a good instrument, but, again, we have domestic government bonds and their yields, as well as the need to provide a risk premium. By the way, I don’t quite understand—and this is a question for analysts—how to assess the solvency of cities in Ukraine. At the moment, I don’t really see much demand for this,” the expert noted.
According to him, the main buyers right now are individuals who are focused on returns and tax benefits.
The head of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) reported that two bills on tax incentives are currently being considered for passage through the Verkhovna Rada. He clarified that the first concerns investment accounts exempt from personal income tax provided the investment term is at least three years, while the second concerns the “5+5” scheme: a 5% personal income tax rate and a 5% military levy instead of the current 18% + 5%. Semenyuk added that discussions regarding the latter bill are ongoing with the Ministry of Finance.
bond, city, INVESTMENT, NSSMC, TAX
Tens of thousands of workers in Germany’s auto industry are taking part in protests, demanding that the government and company executives preserve their jobs, The Guardian reported on Monday.
Workers at Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and a number of other automakers are participating in the protests.
Volkswagen previously announced plans to cut 100,000 jobs over the next three years. BMW and Mercedes are also reducing their workforces.
The protesters are calling on the government to support the industry, particularly through subsidies.
The Guardian notes that the crisis in the German auto industry is linked, in part, to the growth of China’s electric vehicle industry, whose vehicles are cheaper and often equipped with more advanced features compared to their German counterparts.
According to the Relocation project, members of the Latvian “Progressive” Party have submitted a bill to the Saeima to abolish the option of obtaining a temporary residence permit through investments of at least 150,000 euros in a state-run alternative investment fund.
Bill No. 1521/Lp14 was introduced on September 3, and on September 10, the Saeima voted 65 to 17 to refer it to parliamentary committees for review.
The new Immigration Act, which takes effect on September 15, 2026, allows a foreign national to obtain a temporary residence permit for up to five years, provided they invest at least 150,000 euros for a period of at least five years through a state-established alternative investment fund manager. Additionally, the investor must transfer 10,000 euros to the state budget.
The “Progressives”’ proposal calls for removing this provision from the law. The authors of the initiative explain their position by citing risks related to national security, anti-money laundering, compliance with sanctions regimes, and the country’s international reputation. This is the position of the bill’s sponsors, not a decision already adopted by the Saeima.
At the same time, the bill does not abolish another investment mechanism for obtaining a residence permit—through an investment in the capital of a Latvian company. Under current law, a foreign investor may apply for a temporary residence permit, specifically, by making an investment of 50,000 euros in a company with up to 50 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of up to 10 million euros, or an investment of 100,000 euros in a larger company. An initial fee of 10,000 euros payable to the state budget is also required upon initial application.
The new Immigration Law was adopted by the Saeima on August 20 and entered into force on September 15, 2026. It replaced the previous regulations governing investment-based residence permits and, in particular, eliminated the previously used grounds related to real estate purchases and subordinated bank deposits.
The fund mechanism was included in the new law following lengthy discussions in the Saeima. In June, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs returned the law to parliament for reconsideration and specifically drew attention to the provision allowing the issuance of a residence permit in exchange for an investment of 150,000 euros in an alternative investment fund and a contribution of 10,000 euros to the budget.
For now, this is only a legislative proposal. To eliminate the investment-based residence permit, the amendments must undergo further review and be adopted by the Saeima.
INVESTMENTS, LATVIA, MIGRATION, REAL ESTATE, RESIDENCE PERMIT
Ukrainian universities are joining the European Researchers’ Night initiative, which will take place on September 25 this year. Specifically, Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University will host “Science Night 2026” on that day, while Lviv Polytechnic is coordinating a separate European Researchers’ Night 2026–2027 project as part of the Horizon Europe program.
According to Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic, “Science Night 2026” will take place on September 25 on the university campus and will be aimed primarily at schoolchildren, prospective students, and young people. The program includes interactive experiments, scientific demonstrations, a children’s science conference, and international events featuring foreign partners. The event will be held with due consideration for the security situation; the university notes that shelters are available.
A separate international conference as part of “Science Night” is also scheduled for September 25. Researchers from European universities are expected to participate.
In addition, for the first time at this level, Ukraine is represented by a separate project in the European Researchers’ Night program. Lviv Polytechnic has become the coordinator of the international project STEM for Science, Technology, Awareness & Researchers (STEM4STAR), selected for funding under the
European Researchers’ Night and Researchers at Schools 2026–2027 program of Horizon Europe.
According to the university, 241 applications from various European countries were submitted to the competition, and funding was recommended for 49 projects. STEM4STAR received the highest scores from experts across all criteria. The project involves organizing science festivals, European Researchers’ Night events, demonstrations of modern technologies, geospatial games, mapping challenges, mapathons, STEM programs, and startup competitions in Lviv. Some sessions will also take place in schools and colleges across Western Ukraine.
European Researchers’ Night is a pan-European initiative funded by the EU through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. In 2026, the main event will take place on September 25. According to the European Research Council, over 1 million participants are expected across approximately 40 countries. Universities and research institutions will host open labs, experiments, science shows, discussions, exhibitions, and interactive events for the general public.
